Losing totally sucks! Or does it ? No one likes to lose but inevitably from time to time one has to lose in order to understand what winning means. Health benefits of losing weight are obvious to everyone. You are really winning while losing those pounds. Of course if you are losing weight without any serious effort on your part , you better see a doctor. Now we know that at certain times in our lives we are absolutely keen to lose. Like lose our heart or even virginity. Ask a teen if you do not remember. We think we'll win. It is another matter that it does not pan out exactly as advertised. Former event remains a lifelong loss, mostly and the later event proves such a damp squib that one wonders what all that buzz was about.
We like to be in control .Losing it is not considered good. Like having one too many and loosing control of the car with your kids strapped in the back seat. That's is a bad loss; well actually it is criminal. But anyone who has gone through a creative process will tell you that letting things be and loosening control will often lead you to those areas of creativity you had not gone before. Gautama Buddha compared our situation to a little rider (the conscious mind) sitting atop a mighty elephant (the unconscious mind); a rider can coax and cajole, but if the elephant decides to go in a different direction, you can be sure that is where one is going.
If you stick to your original out line, you will miss the dramatic opportunities that emerge as the story unfolds. If you continue to always attempt a realistic portrait of your subject you'll never recognize the vibrant areas of colour ; interesting forms and the dynamic interplay of light that is performing like a magic trick right in front of you. Losing control is good for creativity.
Homo Sapiens ; that's us human beings share about 99% of our genome with chimpanzees. Comparative studies have shown that humans have lost about 500 pieces of DNA that chimps have and we do not. A certain keratin gene that they have and we have lost along the evolutionary road makes them far more hairier than most of us. Humans are rare amongst mammals in that the male penis is not spiked. Barbs, or penile spines, are short spikes made of the above mentioned keratin. They point back towards the body of the male so that after copulation any semen from a previous mate is scraped out of the female’s vagina ! Can't be a lot of fun. We certainly are not complaining about this loss!
The ventral thalamus region of the brain is useful in relaying sensory information to the cerebral cortex. It is also involved in consciousness and the regulation of sleep patterns. In chimpanzees the number of cells populating the thalamus is kept in check by a gene called GADD45G . The effectiveness of GADD45G is increased by a DNA element that we have lost therefore we make far less of this protein than chimpanzees. Making our ventral thalamus regions larger. Allowing us to process and relay more complex information to the cerebral cortex. This is the part of the brain that is crucial for language, memory, and perception. We would most likely still be hanging from the trees but for losing that part of the DNA.
Now that the Indian cricket team is progressing very well towards a comprehensive loss in Australia; I am of a mind to welcome this development. Significant benefits of this loss are dramatically expanded by coming as it is ; immediately after a similar loss in England. Gods must be very kind ! What a lucky break that summer Olympics in London are just on the horizon ! This loss hopefully will change that part of our mental DNA that thinks Cricket is India's religion and Sachin is our God ! Maybe as part of the evolutionary process this loss will make those regions of our brain larger that can process the fact that Sania Nehwal; Gagan Narang , Viswanathan Anand and several others are "Gods" as well. Maybe we will start recognizing the fact that we have simply the worst medal wins to population ratio in the entire world. Even Tiny Tim Taiwan had a medal more than "superpower" India in the Beijing Olympics. It is hoping for too much but it may invigorate the part of our brain that stores the information that Field Hockey is our " National Sport".
Three cheers for the two losses ! They are for the best. Hope they continue losing in the same vein and eventually we will become good enough to win.
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